Bjørn Lomborg is a Danish environmentalist, professor, and the author of two very controversial books, Cool It and The Skeptical Environmentalist. Both of these books challenge the way that the world is tackling the issue of global warming and even question the importance that society is putting on this issue. He argues that global warming is not one of the most important global or environmental problems that the world is facing right now and that costly long term plans like the Kyoto Protocol are not worth the funding and effort. His ideas allow people to examine the priorities of the world and assess the typically accepted view of global warming that the media pushes. For more on global warming please refer to Daniel French's page: Global Warming - Fact or Fiction
Personal Life
Bjørn Lomborg was born on January 6, 1965. He has an M.A in political science and has a Ph.D from the University of Copenhagen. He is gay and has spoken out publicly about homosexuality in Denmark. He is also a vegetarian.
Career
Bjørn Lomborg is a prominent figure in the world of academia, writing, and international environmentalism. He previously held a position as an assistant professor at the University of Aarhus in the Department of Political Science and he is currently an adjunct professor at the Copenhagen Business School. He is the author of two books, Cool It and The Skeptical Environmentalist and is the director of the Copenhagen Consensus Centre which brings together the world’s top economists and, more recently, top United Nations Ambassadors. He was also the director of Denmark’s Environmental Assessment Institute from 2002 to 2004.
Recognition
Well known around the world, Lomborg has been recognized internationally for his environmental efforts. Time Magazine named him as one the top 100 influential people in the world in 2004 and the UK Guardian named him as one of 50 people who could save the planet. He has also been recognized by Esquire as one of 75 of the world’s most influential people and Foreign Policy and Prospect magazine named him one of the top 100 public intellectuals. He was named Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2005 and also named one of 50 stars in Europe by Business Week. His list of recognition is quite extensive and this is by no means an exhaustive list.
Controversy
While Bjørn Lomborg’s work has attracted a lot of positive attention there have also been those that disagree with him and his publications in particular have sparked a lot of debates in the scientific community. After the publication of The Skeptical Environmentalist there were 3 separate cases in which scientists complained to the Danish Committees on Scientific Honesty. The Committee found that the book was in fact scientifically dishonest but that Bjørn Lomborg wasn’t guilty due to his lack of scientific background. He appealed and the committee decided not to pursue any further complaints.
Bjørn Lomborg
By: Anna Hutchinson
Bjørn Lomborg is a Danish environmentalist, professor, and the author of two very controversial books, Cool It and The Skeptical Environmentalist. Both of these books challenge the way that the world is tackling the issue of global warming and even question the importance that society is putting on this issue. He argues that global warming is not one of the most important global or environmental problems that the world is facing right now and that costly long term plans like the Kyoto Protocol are not worth the funding and effort. His ideas allow people to examine the priorities of the world and assess the typically accepted view of global warming that the media pushes. For more on global warming please refer to Daniel French's page: Global Warming - Fact or Fiction
Personal Life
Bjørn Lomborg was born on January 6, 1965. He has an M.A in political science and has a Ph.D from the University of Copenhagen. He is gay and has spoken out publicly about homosexuality in Denmark. He is also a vegetarian.
Career
Bjørn Lomborg is a prominent figure in the world of academia, writing, and international environmentalism. He previously held a position as an assistant professor at the University of Aarhus in the Department of Political Science and he is currently an adjunct professor at the Copenhagen Business School. He is the author of two books, Cool It and The Skeptical Environmentalist and is the director of the Copenhagen Consensus Centre which brings together the world’s top economists and, more recently, top United Nations Ambassadors. He was also the director of Denmark’s Environmental Assessment Institute from 2002 to 2004.
Recognition
Well known around the world, Lomborg has been recognized internationally for his environmental efforts. Time Magazine named him as one the top 100 influential people in the world in 2004 and the UK Guardian named him as one of 50 people who could save the planet. He has also been recognized by Esquire as one of 75 of the world’s most influential people and Foreign Policy and Prospect magazine named him one of the top 100 public intellectuals. He was named Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2005 and also named one of 50 stars in Europe by Business Week. His list of recognition is quite extensive and this is by no means an exhaustive list.
Controversy
While Bjørn Lomborg’s work has attracted a lot of positive attention there have also been those that disagree with him and his publications in particular have sparked a lot of debates in the scientific community. After the publication of The Skeptical Environmentalist there were 3 separate cases in which scientists complained to the Danish Committees on Scientific Honesty. The Committee found that the book was in fact scientifically dishonest but that Bjørn Lomborg wasn’t guilty due to his lack of scientific background. He appealed and the committee decided not to pursue any further complaints.